Elliot Valenstein discusses the development of and trends in psychosurgery, which was rapidly adopted in the 1920s and 1930s, reaching a peak of about 50,000 operations around 1950. In the mid-1980s, bioethical issues surrounding neurosurgery for mental disorders reflect changing attitudes of physicians and the public.
At the time of this interview, Valenstein, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1983-84), was professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
